Friday, February 17, 2017

Book Review & GIVEAWAY: You Had Me at Hero by Michael P. Thomas

When seventeen-year-old Mark Potts fell from a balcony, he lost both the use of his legs and any faith in heroes. Now twenty-nine, he’s long-since come to terms with his injury. His job provides more opportunities for eye-rolling than for riding to anybody’s rescue, but with two kids to bring up, he barely has time for his husband, much less for heroics. Besides, Starr Bradford is a policeman -- how many heroes does one family need?

Mark and Starr love each other madly, but stress management is a load-bearing pillar of their happiness. When Mark’s coping skills fail him at exactly the wrong moment, he’s left hanging by a thread of words he should’ve kept in his mouth. He has the power to repair their relationship, but when Starr’s workday suddenly goes south, will he get to wield it? Keeping it together long enough to find out is a job worthy of any superhero!


This was a pretty quick read that flowed well. I liked the main characters and thought they had a great, relatively uncomplicated, relationship. It was interesting to read about how children came into their lives and how well both Mark and Starr took on the role of father. Even though there was a small amount of exposition for Mark and Starr, I wish there had been more. Sometimes I felt as though I picked up their story somewhere in the middle. There were pieces I felt were missing that could have fleshed out the characters and the overall storyline much better. 


The "big misunderstanding," in my opinion, seemed a little overblown by both of the main characters. I was confused as to why that particular incident caused so much worry and angst, at least from Mark's point of view.

All in all, this is a nice read. I appreciated how Michael P. Thomas inserted important social commentary into the book, particularly when it came to race. It's not perfect, but the effort is there and I respect him for that.
I received a copy of this book from the author and voluntarily provided my honest review.


Buy Links
JMS Books | Amazon

~ M


You Had Me at Hero by Michael P. Thomas

Title: You Had Me at Hero
Author: Michael P. Thomas
Genre: Gay Romance, Contemporary, Interracial
Length: Novella
Publisher: JMS Books

 

Synopsis

You Had Me at Hero by Michael P. ThomasWhen seventeen-year-old Mark Potts fell from a balcony, he lost both the use of his legs and any faith in heroes. Now twenty-nine, he’s long-since come to terms with his injury. His job provides more opportunities for eye-rolling than for riding to anybody’s rescue, but with two kids to bring up, he barely has time for his husband, much less for heroics. Besides, Starr Bradford is a policeman — how many heroes does one family need?

Mark and Starr love each other madly, but stress management is a load-bearing pillar of their happiness. When Mark’s coping skills fail him at exactly the wrong moment, he’s left hanging by a thread of words he should’ve kept in his mouth. He has the power to repair their relationship, but when Starr’s workday suddenly goes south, will he get to wield it? Keeping it together long enough to find out is a job worthy of any superhero!

 

Buy Links

JMS Books: http://www.jms-books.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=29_94&products_id=2008
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N6XBBMF/
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N6XBBMF/
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B01N6XBBMF/
Amazon DE: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01N6XBBMF/

 

Excerpt

The 911 call center was tucked into a park in the middle of town. Mark and Starr lived in a neighborhood of post-World War II brick ranch houses east of the park, barely a five-minute drive at three in the morning. Even after being corralled by Coretta, Mark was out of his clothes, out of his chair, and into the bed by three-thirty, with his arms around his husband at three-thirty and about two seconds. Geeze but it felt good to cuddle up next to Starr. Any trace of a world that might exist outside their bed fizzled away as soon as they were in it together. Even if he tried, which he had long given up doing, he couldn’t focus on a worry, couldn’t retain the residue from even the most stressful call. With Starr in his arms, there was no room left for fear, no way to also hold on to doubt. With Starr in a patrol car and two sons careening through life in America while being black, these things were easy enough to find during the day, but in the quiet dark, Starr’s body throwing heat like rocks in a sauna, Mark’s defenses—which Starr assured him were more finely tuned than most people’s—melted away.

When Starr rolled over with the whoosh of a contented sigh to take Mark in his own arms, Mark knew he was safe. He knew he was loved. And when his hand followed a hunch along the ridge of Starr’s muscled belly, he knew he was desired. He took a great handful of Starr’s warm, heavy balls and watched a sleepy grin spread across his face.

“Marky?”

This mumbled verification always made Mark laugh. As opposed to…? “No. It’s a jewel thief,” he said, gathering Starr’s balls and giving his sac a tug. “I just struck it rich.”

The grin grew and Starr rolled onto his back. “Take whatever you want, just please don’t hurt me.”

“We’ll see.”

 

Giveaway

Prize: $20 Amazon Gift Card
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

About the author

Michael P. Thomas is a flight attendant whose writing is continually inspired by his work with the flying public, who flatly refuse to be boring. The author of three novel-length gay romances and a number of romantic and erotic shorts, he writes gay fiction because when he was coming out he sure was glad to have it to read. After misspending his youth in San Francisco, he now lives in his native Colorado with his husband.
Social Links
Website: http://misterstewardess.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoReadMichaelPThomas
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MrStewardess

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